Saturday, October 30, 2010

The #1 ranked Villanova women -- led as usual by Sheila Reid and Amanda Marino -- won their third consecutive Big East cross title today in Jamesville, NY. Reid and Marino went 1-2 for the second straight year and Villanova's top five women (with a :39 second spread) all finished in the top 11 runners, as Villanova scored 26 points. In the team race, #5 Georgetown (42) was second, #8 Syracuse (79) third, #13 Providence (90) fourth, and West Virginia (149) fifth. NCAA regionals are in two weeks, hosted by Penn State.

The Villanova men, ranked #29 in the most recent national polls, finished one point out of third today at the Big East cross country championship meet hosted by Syracuse. The men finished with 85 point -- 8-13-14-21-29 -- behind #17 Syracuse (58), #28 Louisville (63), and Providence (84). #23 Notre Dame (127) was 5th and #21 Georgetown (130) 6th. The top five runner for Villanova finished with a 47 second spread. Matt Kane and Keith Capecci continued their surprisingly strong seasons, and they joined Mathew Mildenhall in attaining all-conference status. Next up for the Wildcats will be the NCAA Mid-Atlantic regionals, to be hosted by Penn State in two weeks.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

VILLANOVA, Pa.--It couldn't come at a better time that the Villanova men's cross country team is at full strength for the first time all year, as the Wildcats will head to the BIG EAST Championships this coming Saturday morning at Jamesville Beach Park in Jamesville, N.Y. The conference meet is an 8K race which will begin at 11:15 a.m.

As a team, Villanova has not competed since the Penn State National nearly two weeks ago. Since then, however, junior Matthew Gibney (Albury, Australia) made his season debut at last week's Haverford Invitational. He joins seniors Hugo Beamish (Havelock North, New Zealand) and Keith Capecci (New Hope, Pa.) and fellow juniors Matt Kane (Fairfield, Conn.) and Mathew Mildenhall (Auckland, New Zealand) to form the top five for the Wildcats entering the BIG EAST meet. This weekend will be the first time that all five race together this season.

"We are a little behind where we should be but that is okay because this weekend is a great opportunity for us," Villanova head coach Marcus O'Sullivan said. "Matt had a good debut at Haverford last week and Hugo is starting to look good also. We are looking forward to having our best team out there in the conference meet."

Seniors Brian Long (Louisville, Ky.) and Carl Mackenzie (Lower Hutt, New Zealand) have also run well this fall and will compete this weekend along with junior Joseph LoRusso (Oak Hill, Va.) and sophomore Greg Morrin (Hockessin, Del.).

The top group of runners for the wildcats demonstrated remarkable consistency at Penn State earlier this month when the first five finishers for Villanova were separated by a mere 13 seconds. That kind of depth will be just as vital for the Wildcats as it is to have their full team healthy for the first time.

"There are a number of guys having excellent seasons for us, particularly Kane and Capecci," O'Sullivan said. "I have been just as encouraged by seeing runners like Long and LoRusso really step up and continue getting better and stronger as the season goes on."

Jamesville Beach Park is a brand new site for the BIG EAST Championships and the race will be held on a golf course that features rolling hills throughout the course.

"This is not a flat course by any means," O'Sullivan said. "There are going to be hills pretty much all throughout the race. This meet is a challenge that the whole team is looking forward to."

VILLANOVA, Pa.--Coming up on Saturday morning, the Villanova women's cross country team will race in the BIG EAST Championships at Jamesville Beach Park in Jamesville, N.Y. The conference meet is a 6K race that will begin at 10:30 a.m. An awards ceremony at Noon will follow the competition.

"The BIG EAST Championships represent the start of the championship part of our season and we are excited to get going and face some of the great teams in our conference," Villanova head coach Gina Procaccio said.

Entering this weekend's meet, the Wildcats have been ranked No. 1 in the nation in the USTFCCCA national poll since the start of the season. Villanova has captured the last two BIG EAST titles as well and will be in action at the conference meet for the first time since winning the Penn State National two weeks ago.

Seniors Sheila Reid (Newmarket, Ont.) and Amanda Marino (Jackson, N.J.) lead a veteran group of runners for the Wildcats and came in first and second, respectively, at the Penn State meet. Senior Ali Smith (Columbia, Md.), junior Bogdana Mimic (Pancevo, Serbia) and freshman Emily Lipari (Greenvale, N.Y.) complete Villanova's formidable top five.

"Our girls like to compete and they seem to rise to the challenge against good competition," Procaccio said. "The BIG EAST has some highly-ranked teams and we are looking forward to a great meet."

"I am very excited about the depth we have developed this year, starting within our top five and their ability to run with each other and continuing with the rest of the team being able to step up and push themselves closer to that group."

Jamesville Beach Park is a brand new location for the BIG EAST Championships and the race will be held on a golf course that features rolling hills along the course.

"Last year's conference meet was also in a new location so it really doesn't make a difference to our girls where they run," Procaccio said. "We are hearing that this is a hilly course and that works to our strengths as a team."

With an all-american father (Ken) and all-american sister (Nicole) among Villanova's illustrious running alumni, Stephanie Schappert is sure to be on Villanova's recruiting blotter this year. Stephanie competes for Pope John Paul II high school in Boca Raton, Florida and is the two-time defending Florida state 2A cross country champion (something Nicole accomplished as well). This past spring she won both the 800 and 1600 titles at the 2A state outdoor meet. On November 20th in Dade City, Stephanie will attempt to win her third straight 2A cross country state title (she's won four of the five meets she contested this fall).

Friday, October 22, 2010

Callie Hogan ran the vast majority of her race last week at Notre Dame with only one spike. She used both spikes today to win the 3 mile Haverford Invitational in 17:00.48 (5:40 per). Former Haverford four-time All American Annick Lamar ('08) pressed Hogan throughout, but Hogan beat Lamar back into second. Kelly McElroy, who ran collegiately for William & Mary, finished third. The squad travels to New York next weekend for the Big East conference meet, where the Villanova women are two-time defending champions.

Matt Gibney returned to competition today for the first time since his indoor season was cut short by a hip injury. Gibney showed good form in winning the 4 mile Haverford Invitational in 20:06.51 (5:02 per). The race was contested by 81 runners from 7 different area schools, but for Villanova it was a weekend to rest those at the top of the squad in anticipation of next weekend's Big East championship meet. Listed below are the Villanova finishers:

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Villanova is a finalist in the recruiting war for Cornwall, NY's Aisling Cuffe, the #1 prep distance runner in the USA. She ended her junior year in June ranked #1 in the country at 3200 meters and two miles, #2 at 3000 meters, and #3 at 1500 meters. She is currently the #1 ranked harrier over 5000 meters, with a PR (16:40.90) a full 24 seconds faster than the second best national time. Cuffe was a major competitor of Villanova freshman Emily Lipari over the past few years as they battled for state supremacy. Generally speaking, Lipari seemed to get the best of Cuffe at the shorter distances, but Cuffe usually beat Lipari at longer distances. Their competition turned into a solid friendship, something that may give Villanova some advantage in the battle to sign this superlative athlete (click the title of this post to be taken to Cuffe's Milesplit page).

Cuffe has taken two official visits to date: to Duke and to Villanova. She is considering Georgetown, Stanford, Oregon, Providence, and Washington as well. Here is her blog reaction to the VU visit.

After the race, my dad drove me down to Villanova for my 2nd official college visit. On the drive, guess what I noticed! The beginnings of the dreaded head cold! It caught me at last! At least it held up until after the race. Villanova was another great experience, even though the hurricane weather from down south was beginning to creep up into the northeast, in the form of dreary rain. But ignoring the rain, Villanova was another success. All of these great colleges are making my deciding job very difficult!

The Villanova women would seem to ensure their current position as a top-level women's program if Gina is able to turn these former competitors (see below) into Main Line teammates.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

A few years back Eamonn Coghlan's son John was on Villanova's recruiting radar, but nothing much developed on either end of the relationship. John stayed in Ireland and has carved out a more than respectable list of accomplishments. Over the weekend John tested the Jerry Farnan cross country race in Phoenix Park and came third. In the video above, he's the taller one in the green vest in the battle for third. He came home in 24:44 over the 5 mile course.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Former Villanova All-American Douma-Hussar of Cambridge, Ontario is generally known as a 1500 meter specialist. Her accomplishments at that distance include two Canadian national titles, an IAAF World Indoor Championships silver in 2004, and an Olympic finals in 2004 in Athens. She's won New York's 5th Avenue Mile twice as well.

In her first Canadian road race, Carmen Douma-Hussar showcased her versatility and sheer dominance, winning the women's 10K at the Oasis ZooRun in 33:23, Saturday in Toronto. In the process she took the Canadian 10K title.

“It's a first [road race win], and it's a fun thing to win a Canadian championship,” Douma-Hussar said modestly, as she was whisked away to doping control.

The race, which also served as the Athletics Canada national 10K championships, attracted some of the top runners from across the country. It's also the finale of the Canada Running Series and Timex Series events. British Columbia won the Timex team challenge.

Defending champion Malindi Elmore of Kelowna, B.C., finished in second place, almost a minute back of Douma-Hussar in 34:12. Lanni Marchant of London, Ont. was third in 34:40.

Rob Watson and Carmen Douma-Hussar, Canadian 10K Champs

Although she won her fourth Canadian crown by a large margin, it was a big challenge for Douma-Hussar, who admits she's much more comfortable on a 400m synthetic track than a hilly course that winds through the Toronto Zoo.

But she took advantage of a key difference in the sport. In most road races, unlike track or cross country, women and men run on the course at the same time.

“You're running with the guys. It can help. You can focus on the next guy in front of you, if there are not too many women around you,” Douma-Hussar said.

Douma-Hussar had built a 17-second lead on Elmore at the halfway mark, splitting 5K in 16:30. She consistently increased the gap, before showing off her fast-twitch skills in a sprint down the finishing stretch to break the ceremonial tape.

Douma-Hussar and Elmore — both elite 1500m runners on the track — won the last two Canadian 10K road titles. It may be the start of a trend, where more middle-distance athletes look seriously at making the jump to long-distance road racing sooner in their careers.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

The #1 ranked Villanova women's cross country team won the Penn State National meet this morning in impressive fashion. The team went 1-2-5-8-10-(31)-(78) with a tight 41 second spread. Sheila Reid and Amanda Marino finshed first and second over the 6k course. "We ran great today," Villanova head coach Gina Procaccio said. "Syracuse is the No. 7 team in the country and they cannot be beaten easily. The team has done a good job in our last two races of running to the level of competition. We have to keep doing that and continue getting better as we head into the championship portion of the schedule." Emily Lipari in eighth was the top freshman finisher of the meet, and Villanova's team total of 26 points beat #7 Syracuse and #30 Penn State into 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Big East rival West Virginia finished 6th.Shoe problems were evident: Amanda Marino had to stop during the race to replace a shoe, and Callie Hogan ran the majority of the race in one shoe, after losing one in the fist minute of the race.

Displaying a tight pack, the Villanova men finished 14-18-19-21-23-(47)-(66), with a mere 13-second spread from 1-5. Each of the top five men's harriers averaged under 5:00 per mile on the State College 5.2 mile course. Matt Kane (14th) and Keith Capecci (19th) continue to show great contribution to the team. In his season debut, Hugo Beamish came 18th. Matt Gibney was held out of the meet and has yet to compete this XC season. Villanova finished 4 places short of 2nd overall. #14 Syracuse won the meet, with host #23 Penn State second.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Villanova's men will send 10 runners to compete at Penn State this weekend. Among them will be Hugo Beamish, who will be making his 2010 XC debut. Mathew Mildenall, out for the Notre Dame Invitational two weeks ago, will return as well. Matt Gibney will be held out; he's not run at any meet this fall, although reports are that his hip has essentially healed. The ten Nova men who will compete are:

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The number one-ranked cross country runner in the Philadelphia Catholic League (PCL) this year is LaSalle College High School's Tom Trainer. He's undefeated in the PCL this year and has the best time run on the Belmont Plateau course this season (16:18). He comes from a very strong cross country program, which has won the last seven PCL cross country titles. His cross country 5K PR is 15:46 and he has a track 3200 PR of 9:16. He is the reigning PCL and PIAA Disrict 12 AAA 3200 meter champion. He placed 12th in the 3200 meters at the Pennsylvania state meet, in 9:16.72 last May as a junior. So far this season outside the PCL, Tom won the Briarwood Invitational, was 3rd at the Carlisle Meet of Champions, and came 20th last week at Eastern States (see video above). The PCL cross country championship will be held on October 23 and Trainer is the odds-on favorite for the individual title. Trainer is on Villanova's recruiting radar and Nova may have the inside track: his father is Dr. James F. Trainer, Villanova's Director of Planning and Assessment in the Office of Planning and Institutional Research.

With the first four automatically qualifying, Willis, in the later heat, strolled into fourth while barely raising a sweat.

Blincoe finished fifth, but his heat was considerably faster, allowing him to qualify as one of the next four fastest.

"It was pretty solid. I ran hard and felt good, it was just that last 100m that it got a little tough," Blincoe said.

Blincoe struggled in the 5000m on Wednesday after leaving it too late to acclimatise to the heat.

"The heat's actually dropped the last couple of days. It would have been nicer to run a 5k in this weather."

While Blincoe was always confident his time of 3m 41.54s would be good enough to qualify, Willis took that equation out of play by nabbing one of the automatic spots. It all looked remarkably easy for the Hutt Valley native who clocked 3m 42.47s.

"I was just trying to run the smoothest race possible, I wasn't really worried about the [three] guys up front," Willis said.

"I didn't want to get too excited and I'll give it everything [tonight

Monday, October 11, 2010

Adrian Blincoe came fifth in heat #1 of the 1500 meters today in Delhi, India and qualified for the Commonwealth Games 1500 meter finals. Another slow paced sit-and-kick race left the mad dash for the final 200 meters. Not surprisingly under such a scenario, the top six finishers all came home in a 1.2 second clump.

The second 1500 heat went just as the first, with a very pedestrian pace producing a final lap sprint. Nick Willis, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist, advanced to the finals by coming fourth in 3:42.47. The Welshman James Thie is the only man older than Blincoe to make the finals. The final 12 men range in age from 20-year old James Magut of Kenya to the 32-year old Thie.

Jen Rhines bounced back nicely from a disappointing performance at last weekend's US 10 mile championship (won by Katie McGregor) with a strong performance today at the US 10K championship in Boston (run as the Tufts Healthcare 10K). Jen finished second (third overall), 16 seconds out of first, in a new road 10K PR. This finish is Jen's second top 2 finish this year in US championships, as she finished second to McGregor in March in the 15K championships. Molly Huddle, the two-time defending champion, won her third straight title at 10K.

Jen Rhines will be among the following women as they compete in the USA 10K championship today in Boston. The race starts at 12:00 eastern and can be viewed via live stream at: http://www.runnerspace.com/USA-Womens-10k. Just click this post's title to be sent to the site. Race results will be posted later today.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

One of Villanova's all-time greats, Eamonn Coghlan speaks here in 2009 about running cross country in Ireland and how it differs from cross in the States (akin to playing golf on a links course versus playing on a manicured American course). He speaks also about indoor running, which was in many ways his forte. The video provides as well a good look at "Irish weather" -- as in "we've got Irish weather today." Always good to hear the brogue.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

The photo above of John Hartnett, Irish Olympian and former Irish mile and 1500 meter national record holder, comes from a wonderful site that pays tribute to John's career. Click on the title to this post to be sent to that site. Also posted there is a well done extended video of Eamonn Coghlan's career.

Championship races are notorious for their cautious tactics and resulting slow times. They are often agonizing to watch as the runners run well below their normal pace and the tension builds. Afraid to make the race for the others, no one is willing to get in front and push the pace. Today's Commonwealth Games 5000 in Delhi was just such a race. The winner -- Moses Kipsiro from Uganda -- came home in a relatively pedestrian 13:31.25. That's a full 41 seconds slower than his career PR. He ran 13:00.15 in June of this year. Likewise, Eliud Kipchoge came second today in 13:31.32, despite his 12:46.63 PR and a 2010 time of 12:51.21. With the top guys executing a sit-and-kick strategy, and with no rabbits to provide a proper pace, the race today was painfully slow. As a result, Adrian Blincoe's time was likewise well off his PR of 13:10.19, and he did not respond off the slow pace. He finished in 11th place in 14:03.07. All things being equal, Adrian should have been in the mix with Collis Birmingham and Ben St. Lawrence, who finished in 13:39 and 13:45, respectively.

Adrian Blincoe said the six days he spent in Hong Kong preparing for the Games wasn’t enough to adjust to the heat of Delhi and he paid the price. “I just underestimated the affect of the heat, I didn’t get myself over to a hotter climate early enough and I paid the price out there,” he said.

The New Zealand national 5000m record holder, at 13m 10.19s in Belgium in 2008, kept up with the winner Kipsiro and three Kenyans for nine of the 12.5 laps but with 1000 meters to go he “really hit the wall hard”.

On the positive side, Blincoe is competing at 1500 meters as well later in the week.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Today Terrence Mahon, an eight-time all american while running at Villanova, turns 40 years old. Mahon, known these days an one of the top distance coaches in the business (see the careers of Deena Kastor, Ryan Hall, to name only two), was the Big East 10,000 meter champion in 1993, and won the IC4A titles at 5000i meters in 1992 and 10,000 meters in 1993. As a post-collegiate professional runner, Mahon won the USATF 30K national title and qualified for five Olympic trials (twice on the track and thrice at the marathon distance). He owns PRs of 4:05.9 (mile), 8:05.9 (3000 meters), 13:33.2 (5000 meters), 28:31.1 (10,000 meters), 1:03:37 (half marathon) and 2:13:02 (marathon). Despite these great accomplishments, he is most envied for being married to Jen Rhines.

Monday, October 4, 2010

In the last ten years there have been six New Zealanders who have run for Villanova: Adrian Blincoe, Nic O'Brien, Lewis Jenkin, and current runners Hugo Beamish, Carl Mackenzie, and Mathew Mildenhall. Blincoe and O'Brien went on to set new national records after stellar careers for Villanova. While the Irish running pipeline to Villanova has dried up (with Richie Corcoran being the most recent in the illustrious history), the influx of Kiwis to the program has been part of a more general trend in recent years nationwide. Whereas in decades past Villanova and Providence competed tooth and nail over Irish talent, the two school currently have 9 New Zealanders on their respective rosters. In recent years, in addition to Villanova's 6 Kiwis, other schools have also made it a habit to recruit New Zealand hard: Lamar (8), McNeese (8, including Kim Smith), Michigan (3, including Nick Willis), Oklahoma (8), Oklahoma State (9, including Jason Woolhouse), Providence (12, including Hamish Thorpe and -- after a transfer -- Kim Smith), Stony Brook (12), Tulsa (6), Washington State (5), and Western State in Colorado an amazing (18, including Keith Dowland, Rees Buck, and Michael Aish). This is an impressive output for a country with only 4.4 million inhabitants. At least 12 NZ National records are currently held by individuals who matriculated at US colleges and universities. At the Notre Dame Invite cross country meet last weekend, won by the Villanova women, all five of Stony Brook's women scorers were from New Zealand.

There are currently at least 44 New Zealand athletes competing for American colleges and universities; some newcomers may be missing:

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Katie McGregor won the 10-mile USA road title today in Minneapolis, on her "home" course. Jen Rhines came ninth, some 80 seconds behind McGregor. Accounts of the race indicate that Jen was running with a breakaway group of three (along with McGregor and Renee Metivier) through the 3-mile mark, but she couldn't live with the pace and fell out the back. By five miles she was some 40 meters in arrears and running in no-man's land. She was soon swallowed by the chase pack and was beaten by a number of women who are, frankly speaking, not in her class. It's been a tough year for the three-time Olympian. Her season peaked with her second-place finish (behind McGregor) at the USA 15K championship in March at the Gate River Run (where she came home some 70 seconds ahead of Metivier). Some consolation can be taken from the fact that it's not an Olympic year and there is plenty of time to regain the type of fitness necessary to make a serious run at her fourth olympic team next summer.

The video interview above took place the day before the race, and Jen states that her next race will be the USA 10K championship, which this year will be the Tufts Health Plan 10K in Boston on October 11. Last year's Tufts 10K was won by Molly Huddle, in 32:07.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

A championships-packed day of racing is set to take place Sunday, October 3rd in Minnesota's Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul as four USA Championship events will be contested as part of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon race festival.

To begin the day, the USA Women's 10 Mile Championship will be held as part of the Medtronic TC 10 Mile. Local favorite and Team USA Minnesota member Katie McGregor will aim to capture her seventh USA championship title. Having won the Medtronic TC 10 Mile five times, though never when it was a USA Championship event, the 33 year-old McGregor will seek to use her experience to her advantage. Challenging her will be three-time Olympian and two-time USA 15 km Champion Jen Rhines. Rhines, who trains with the Mammoth Track Club in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., placed second to McGregor in the USA 15 km Championships earlier this year. Also toeing the line will be Sally Meyerhoff and Renee Metivier Baillie. The winner of the USA Women's 10 Mile Championship will earn $10,000.

The USA Women's 10 Mile and Men's Marathon Championships will be webcast live on www.USARunningCircuit.com, starting at 7:03 a.m. Central Time (8:03 Eastern Time) on Sunday.

Friday, October 1, 2010

On the way to the program's 8th NCAA title last season, the Villanova women went undefeated. That streak stayed alive this afternoon at the Notre Dame Invite. The Villanova women won the meet, defeating #2 Florida State, #3 Washington, #5 Oregon and #8 Princeton. Three Cats finished in the top 7 and 3 Villlanova women were in before the first runner was home for from Oregon, Florida State, or Washington. Villanova's team total of 64 was 54 places better than second-place Oregon and 65 places better than Florida State. Washington finished in 6th place, with 165. Here are the team and Villanova results. For the complete results, click the title of this post.

Competing without Mathew Mildenhall, Matt Gibney, and Hugo Beamish, the Villanova men finished 13th at the Notre Dame Invite. Here are the Villanova results,with the full results available by clicking on this post's title.

While the top of the squads are at the Notre Dame Invite, several Villanova harriers competed today at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. Here are the results. For complete results, click the title of this post.

Early season workouts are all about the threshold interval. Some might call them 'cruise intervals' because of their nature. Here the NCAA defending champions, the Villanova women, do a 6 x 1000 threshold workout just over 2 weeks out from their first race of 2010. The catch is, they have to run a pace they can hold on just one minute rest.

Coach Gina Procaccio likes to utilize short rest at this point in the season and it helped the Wildcats get atop the podium at NCAA's in cross country last fall and qualify 4 girls for the NCAA 3k indoors. The 1st group in this workout is made up entirely of All-Americans, all placing in the top 22 at NCAAs last year.